A New Beginning
by sslade
Summary: Shortly after Hiro rebuilds Baymax, the heroes of San Fransokyo get a surprise visit from and old friend. (currently incomplete; mostly a series of TadaHoney snippets on a loosely connected storyline)
1. Chapter 1: Intro

Hiro sat atop one of San Fransokyo's iconic wind turbines and stared longingly up at the night sky. He had tried to distract himself by counting the innumerable stars twinkling against the endless black backdrop, but it was no use. With a great sigh, he leaned back against the cool surface of the metal turbine. He should have been happy on a night like this. After all, he had been celebrating the reconstruction of his brother's robot with all of his closest friends only about an hour ago.

"Tadashi would be so proud of you," Honey had told him with a sparkle in her eyes.

But that was the thing. No matter how much work he did, how many hours he spent in his lab, how many tears he shed, there was nothing he could do. Tadashi was still gone. The pain was worsened by the fact that remnants of him were everywhere he turned. Hiro saw him in the school campus, on the bridge where they last spoke. He saw him in Baymax and his old nerd lab. His own home carried the most impactful of the memories. Tadashi's bed was still made up in the corner, his bookshelf gradually gathering dust. Neither Hiro nor his aunt felt it was right to touch any of it. Even Baymax seemed to be discontented with the thought of disturbing that sacred section of the room. When it was suggested to the family that they should try gradually removing the items, Baymax, who normally had thoughts to share about everything, kept silent.

"It is currently 9:45, pm," the robotic nurse stated, turning his head to look at Hiro through big black camera-eyes. "Your curfew is in fifteen minutes."

"I know, I know," Hiro sat up with another sigh. The last place he wanted to be at that moment was home. It was there that he would be bombarded with excessive sympathy and unsought attention. All he really needed was a moment to himself, alone in a peaceful place where he could sort through his thoughts without interruption. But he had to go home, at least for his aunt's sake. Ever since the fire, Cass had safeguarded Hiro as if his life was in danger at every second of every day. Showing up after curfew would give the poor woman a heart attack.

He grudgingly crawled onto Baymax's back as he began to spread his mighty red wings and flew off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2: Honey's Song

It was nearing midnight as Honey Lemon began to bring her late night experiment to a close. Her work station was painted in a rainbow of chemical stains from her work over the past few weeks, but she was too preoccupied to care. In fact, Honey was feeling extremely restless lately. She couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly, but deep down, she had a hunch that she was getting closer and closer to a major breakthrough in her studies. If she was right, she was about to change the world for the better. She had been in the lab every day for three weeks, only changing her routine once in order to attend a surprise party for Hiro. Despite her fatigue, she still managed to subtly glide into each step that she took as she grabbed the last beaker to finish cleaning for the night. With her music blaring through her headphones, she felt as if she were invincible.

And then she stopped dead in her tracks as her invincibility suddenly vanished. The glass beaker slipped out of her hand and shattered on the floor, but she didn't bother to pick it up. She was paralyzed by the sound filling her ears.

She flashed back to a night only about a year ago. She had kicked off her signature yellow stilettos and leaned casually against a desk cluttered with robotic carnage. A computer on the other side of the room hummed quietly, filling the air with soft music. The only other sound was the light clinking of metal on metal as Tadashi worked tirelessly on his latest project.

"Are you _ever_ going to take a break?" Honey teased. He had been in his lab for at least five days straight, refusing to leave until he finally finished building his newest robot.

"Yeah," Tadashi responded, half-conscious of the words coming out of his mouth. "Just after I finish this piece here."

"And when will that be?" Honey pushed herself lazily away from the desk and strolled leisurely across the room.

"Soon," Tadashi said, suddenly gaining excitement. "In fact, all I have to do now is connect these two wires here and-"

 _Poof!_ To his dismay, a cloud of grey smoke began rolling out of the device, followed by a small orange flame. Frantically, he threw it on the ground and smothered it with his jacket before the fire alarms had a chance to pick up on the disaster. With a sigh, he sank back down into his chair and buried his head in his hands.

"Hey," Honey spoke gently as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe now would be a good time for a break."

He looked up at her, his weary brown eyes softening under her loving gaze. Exhausted, he slowly wheeled his chair around to face her. Taking her hands in his, he rose to his feet. "I think now _would_ be a good time for a break," he said, pressing his forehead up against hers.

A brief moment of silence passed as one song ended and another began. A smile crept onto Honey's rosy lips.

"You hear that, Dashi?" she pulled her forehead away from his to gaze into his eyes. "It's our song."

"How could I ever miss it?" he grinned back at her. "And since I'm on a break now," he bowed slightly, extending his hand, "would you do me the honors of taking this dance with me?"

Her eyes crinkled around the corners as she curtsied placed her hand in his. "Why of course."

With their arms wrapped around each other, they swayed back and forth to the steady rhythm of the music. Even as their song ended, leaving the room in complete silence, Tadashi held his beloved in his warm embrace.

By the time the song was over, Honey's face was stained with tears. She had dropped to her knees, surrounded by the glittering shards of broken glass. The memory was so vivid and real that she could still feel his arms encircling her. But she knew that she would never truly feel that warmth again. The loving embrace that she had so desperately needed was gone forever.


	3. Chapter 3: An Unexpected Turn

Honey left the lab, brushing off her bright yellow dress, hoping that no one would be around so late to see her in such a state. Despite the stinging sensation that the glass left in her lacerated hands and knees, she tried to push the entire incident out of her mind. She slung her bag over her shoulder as she continued on through the maze of empty hallways. It was the same path she had traveled every single day since she had been given access to the lab, and she could probably walk through with ease with the lights off. Not that she would ever need to. All of the lights in the building were set on motion detectors so that the next set was always on. As she turned another corner, she found that all of the lights down a long hallway had been activated already.

 _How odd_ , she thought to herself. _I could have sworn that I was the last one to sign out of the labs for the night._ After taking a moment to assess the situation, she figured that it must have been a rogue lab rat. Occasionally, they snuck out of their cages and ran rampant about the facilities until someone finally managed to return them to their proper homes. Fortunately, Honey had never been afraid of mice, so the thought of running into one of the fuzzy little rodents did not phase her. Confidently, she continued onward.

Suddenly she felt an icy hand grip her arm and tug her into a dark classroom. Before she could scream, another hand was down on top of her mouth. Frantically, she writhed and squirmed, desperately trying to free herself from the unknown force restraining her.

"Shhhh…" it whispered close to her ear. "Honey, it's okay, it's me."

A shiver went down her spine. That voice was familiar, ever present in her dreams. She knew it by heart. But it couldn't be...

"Dashi?" she asked quietly, her voice muffled by his hand. The arms around her gently slipped away, and she turned around to face him. Against all odds, she was staring face to face with those same brown eyes that she could spend eternity gazing into. "But you're… dead…"

"No, I'm very much alive right now," he smiled. Subconsciously, their hands met, but Honey flinched at his touch.

"Your hand is so cold," she noted.

"Well," Tadashi rubbed his neck uneasily, "that's because it's technically not my real hand."

"What?" her heart dropped into her stomach.

"It was a small price to pay, given that I made it out alive, but I lost part of my arm the night of the fire. I would have come back sooner, but…" his voice trailed off for a moment as he searched for the proper words. "It's all so complicated. I promise I'll explain everything in time, when everyone is together again. But for now, the important thing for you to know is that I'm okay."

She looked away from him, staring wistfully at the ground. All of this information was coming at her so fast that she barely had time to process her scattered thoughts. A strange and confusing, yet powerfully bittersweet emotion overcame her. As amazing as it was to see him again, it pained her to know that he had been broken. She could never have the same Tadashi, the one before the fire, ever again. It was a selfish thought, and she knew it, but she couldn't help but to feel frustrated.

"Hey," he whispered, lifting her chin tenderly with his fingertips. With his non-mechanical hand, he guided her palm to rest on his chest. She felt the soft, steady beating of his heart. It was the same heart that had lead him straight to her, the one that contained the same kindness that she had fallen for so long ago. The rhythmic pulse felt like an old familiar lullaby, soothing Honey's agitated thoughts.

"I'm still alive," Tadashi said, as if having read her mind, "and I'm still me."

With those simple, gentle words, Honey's racing thoughts quickly unscrambled, snapping her out of her daze. Her olive eyes began to well with tears held back for far too long. It really was him. This was the boy that she had missed so much, the one who always knew exactly what to say, the one who she didn't get to say goodbye to. He was the one that she had always loved, and those emotions that she had tried to suppress, to hold down in order to appear strong for her friends, had suddenly resurfaced with overwhelming power.

She threw her arms around him and began to sob into his shoulder. As his arms encircled her protectively, it truly began to sink in for her that he was there with her, and he was alive and real and okay.

"Don't ever leave me again," she cried. "Promise?"

"I promise."

Eventually, her tears subsided and her breathing fell back into its normal pace. With a tiny sniffle, Honey finally spoke the same words that she had once whispered to an empty casket on a grim, rainy day.

"I love you."

Those three little words still held the same emotional power that they had on the day of the funeral. They made her feel just as strong and weak simultaneously and caused the world to spin in circles. There was only one difference this time. Instead of searching through warm memories of stolen kisses and spontaneous dances for two, there was a real response waiting for her.

"I love you, too."


End file.
